Tracy Cox (left), co-owner of Dippers Homemade Ice Cream, is shown with David Neudeck, marketing director for the Virginia Tourism Corp., on Monday. Neudeck and others visited as part of Dippers being among the finalists in the tourism corporation’s Culinary Madness Challenge. Dippers won the contest Tuesday. (Bulletin photo by Mike Wray)

“It’s just amazing,” said Tracy Cox, whose family owns and operates the Ridgeway shop. “Sometimes you have to pinch yourself to know that it’s real.”

“The community (support) is what is the most touching to me, as much as we love winning the challenge,” she said. “It touches me the community has rallied around us. ...”

“Our customers are like family to us,” she said.

Peanut Butter Bang Sundae includes a chocolate cake cup filled with Peanut Butter & Brownie Explosion ice cream and topped with hot fudge and peanut butter sauces, according to a news release and information on the Virginia is for Lovers website.

According to information from the Virginia Tourism Corp., “78 dishes were nominated (in the Culinary Madness Challenge) by communities throughout Virginia. An initial popular vote vote-off narrowed the field to 16. This group of 16 was then placed into a traditional single-elimination bracket completion.”

It added that people were encouraged to vote (online) one time per day, and during the 24-day tournament, more than 157,000 votes were cast statewide.

In 2012, Tracy and Rodney Cox and their son Andrew purchased a mobile food trailer, opened Dippers Ice Cream and served Homestead Creamery ice cream, according to a company fact sheet. The next year, the family began experimenting with producing its own custom flavors of ice cream and then began planning an expansion, which included a new, larger facility at a permanent location.

Dippers has been at its current location at 4970 Greensboro Road in Ridgeway since May 16, 2013, Tracy Cox said.